See How My Garden Grows...

I hope I don't bore you with garden updates! I'll try to make it as interesting as possible and if you aren't into gardening, I'll still be including all the usual rambling so there's always something for everyone :)

Added to the flickr photograph site today were pictures of the first row peas, the new row that just popped up the other day, the scallions from Mom, the red onions and some miscellaneous pictures of the farm, me and Wally.

That first row of peas has grown so much that they already have tendrils sprouting from them. These little string-like growths are what enable the peas to cling to fencing, posts, other plants, etc. The tendrils haven't quite reached the chicken wire fence provided for them but they soon will. It may be that I'll have to assist them in their first attempt but rest assured, they'll be climbing that fence in no time.

As I have planted the second row of peas on the other side of the fence, they too will enjoy clinging, climbing, growing and generally taking over the fence. Of course, you and I will enjoy seeing this happen :) The row for the second set of peas is not quite as long as the first row. Not because I didn't want as many peas in the second row but rather because I ran out of seeds....lol! Either way, I'm sure to be covered up (hahahaha) in peas sometime around the beginning of June. Seems like forever doesn't it? I know!!! Don't worry, there's plenty more to keep us busy round here.

The scallions did indeed make their first appearance in the garden! The funny thing is, the two that came up were the last two I planted. Not that it should matter since they were all planted in the same day but I would have thought the first ones planted would come up first. So much for what I think should happen...lol Those scallions will do what they want when they want regardless of my thoughts. Hahahaha that's one of the fun things about gardening! They are but just 3-4 inches tall, and remember, we can see only what grows on the outside of the dirt. What grows underneath will remain a mystery until such time as the scallions are ready to be picked. I'm not sure of the harvest date for them - I'll have to look on the packet again.

The red onions from Darryl are just a delight to see! They grow so quickly, again only on the top side of the dirt, that I swear you can almost watch it happen. lol! I tried to get a picture of them where all the different sizes were represented. Onions aren't the easiest to photograph hahahahha When the crop comes in, I'll get as many pictures of those big, purple orbs as my camera can hold! They'll go in salsas and corn relish. They'll be sauteed with mushrooms to pour over our steaks and they'll definitely be chopped up and added to my summer salads for lunch. hmmmm maybe 25-30 won't be enough after all....LOL!

I checked on the carrots and beats again but still nothing for sure over there. Perhaps they take as long as the peas to emerge? LOL well I'll be keeping an eye out for them as days go by. There is no sign of the hollyhocks or delphinium but I'm thinking they'll need a few more warm weeks to get them going. If my irises are like the other ones I see around town, they should be blooming here before too long. The caladium bulbs and Lilly of the Valley haven't shown any new growth as of yet but I checked for the bulbs to see that the squirrels didn't get them and they were all still there! Whew!

I put out plant markers (finally!) so I could remember what is planted where. LOL With so much in the ground, it's hard to remember! I also created a gardening calendar so I know when the seeds were planted and, according to their packages, when they will emerge and when the veggies or flowers should be ready to pick or bloom as the case may be. There are some things you just gotta know! Well, I do anyway :) :)  It's kind of my way of organizing things since there's no room in my head for it. Do you have that same problem? Welcome to my world hahaha.

Still as yet unplanted are the Echinacea seeds and the sunflower seeds. I have a little bit of time for those as they like the heat of the summer and will be just as happy then as now. So the garden grows here in TN!

According to the April edition of Southern Living magazine, the time for dividing and transplanting day lilies is here. Heck I didn't know that. I'll have to add it to my list of things to do on Sunday. I can't do it Saturday because we have company coming in for the weekend starting tomorrow. We'll be busy on the 4 wheelers, taking tours of the back roads and generally relaxing and visiting. I hope to do some cooking for them - they've never had my mayonnaise biscuits with sausage gravy - ah they don't know what they've been missing lol!

Which reminds me, I'll be out of the office Friday....sorry readers! I promise to have a nice long update for you come Monday :) Okay? lol

Monday night it rained and rained and my garden looked absolutely beautiful when the sun finally came out. The yard is greening up with new grass and all along the driveway shoots of it are almost in need of mowing. I've seen several people out mowing their yards but honestly I don't think it's because the yard necessarily needs to be mowed. I think the people just need to get outside and do something since the weather has turned so nice. Still the smell of fresh cut grass is so nice as it blows through my open window...

The time finally came for me to have tractor-driving lessons. So far so good! I didn't wreck it! LOL It was a blast!! Wally told me all about the gears and the brake and the gas. None of which really resemble a car by the way... he started me off in the lowest gear available and told me how to change up if I decided I wanted to. Well, I hadn't gone but a couple of yards when I wanted to go just a little bit faster. Not a lot, mind you. I wasn't entirely sure what that thing could do but I knew it was strong. We've been using it to pull my truck in and out of the barn as needed for working on it.

I putted down the driveway leaving the barn and headed over towards the condo (trailerhood...) with Wally riding along beside or in front of me on the 4 wheeler. Oh what fun it was! You sit up real high and it's so comfortable that I now know how a farmer could sit there all day just tooling along plowing his fields. The day was sunny and breezy and I was sitting high on the hog up there in that seat. I can't wait to get back on it and take another ride. Oh to be plowing a field!! Plowing takes attachments though and Wally says I'm not ready for all that just yet...I need some more time in the seat! LOL! But just you wait, my time will come. One of these days I'll have a field to plow :) Can't you just see me out there?

With my tractor-driving lesson over, we packed up our stuff in the barn and rode the 4 wheelers home. I seasoned some pork chops while Wally set free the puppies and turned on the radio so we could hear it outside. I chopped up some green cabbage and put it in a pan to steam with a little (very little!) bacon fat, some black pepper and a couple pats of real butter. I know it sounds like a lot of fat but most of it stays in the pan - not on the cabbage. It just helps so much to soften and season it....I cut up some carrots and started them to boil and then we put the chops on the grill.

The puppies did their usual running, jumping, playing thing and the roosters, as always, had no time for them. The old dogs hung out by the grill as soon as the scent of seared pork reached their noses and we stood out there just watching our animals, our dinner and appreciated what life had to offer. At this time of day, the front yard is in full sun and the hawks soar in the wind coming off the hill. There are two of them out there and have been there for years. Wally says they mate for life. They sure make a pretty sight in this, the earliest part of the evening.

Soon dusk will descend and we'll see a few bats flying hither and yon gobbling up mosquitoes as they go. We're looking into building a bat house so they have a place to stay in between their feeding frenzies! I remember when Aunt Karen and Uncle Dee lived over in Longwood off Grant St. They had a bat that came out every evening and ate all the mosquitoes he could possibly consume. He was a great bat and his name was, of course, Baseball. LOL True story!

With our chops ready to come off the grill we headed back inside so I could finish up the vegetables. I heard the puppies chasing the roosters and the roosters were having a fit. Wally went to check on them and found that Colt had pinned down one of the roosters. He called him and called him but he wouldn't come. Ruger wouldn't come either. Oh by were they ever in big trouble for that! After a couple times calling them, Colt finally came over. Ruger ran under the porch. Uh oh. Now that made matters worse.

Wally did finally get them to come to him and they were reminded to listen to him when he called. I won't go into detail but lets just say I couldn't watch their lesson. In the end, he did the right thing with them as they were eagerly coming to him and happy to do so. Our worry is if they were playing with a child and had the child pinned down - then if they didn't come to us, what would we do? There are no children here but you never know when someone will bring their children over and we need to be sure the puppies will listen when they are called. The rooster? Oh, he was fine - just madder than all get out! They were all very riled up and not the least bit happy. I guess the one that was pinned played opossum and that's probably a good thing.

I don't think Colt intends to hurt them, I think he wants them to play with him like Ruger does. Of course, they couldn't begin to do that but he doesn't know it. They are supposed to herd and protect farm animals, not chase and possibly kill them so there are more lessons to be learned for those two haney bug teenagers! lol Today we go back to walking them on their leashes every day until they learn to behave like they did before. I can't have them taking out my roosters - it's just not right nor is it fair when the roosters have become so accustomed to a carefree lifestyle.

So the puppies were back on their chains, the old dogs were lazily resting on the back porch, we had grilled pork chops, buttery-peppery-steamed cabbage and honey-buttered carrots waiting for us to begin our feast. mmm talk about a good day! The sun had barely set in the west when we headed upstairs to bed. I think I stayed awake until 8:00 pm (a record!) before I drifted off into the world of dreams.... zzzzzzzz

I hope my dear friend Lizzard had a most wonderful birthday yesterday! HAPPY BIRTHDAY LIZZARD :)

You do so much for me Lizzard and I can't thank you enough!

"You live longer once you realize that any time spent being unhappy is wasted." ~Ruth E. Renkl